We believe certified carbon offsets generated by carbon sequestration or emissions reduction activities are a powerful way for individuals and businesses to act immediately to mitigate the effects global climate change. While critics have rightly pointed out that carbon offsets are not a magic bullet that will solve climate change trends, they fulfill an important role in encouraging technological ingenuity and providing market-based opportunities to reduce the factors that further aggravate climate change factors like deforestation. An overhaul of the global energy sector, both in terms of supply and demand, is urgently needed to reverse the present climate crisis. Right now, while we await the more systemic adjustments needed to address the roots of the problem fossil fuel energy we are in an important transitional period, when carbon markets are extremely important in the effort to address climate change.
ClearSky Philosophy
ClearSky develops high-quality carbon credit projects and only pursues projects that also deliver multiple benefits, such as biodiversity conservation or income generation for socially and economically disadvantaged people. Our projects are designed to meet the rigorous certification requirements of internationally-accepted carbon standards. We develop each project openly and transparently to ensure project credibility and equitable benefit distribution for all project stakeholders. This can be seen in our tropical forestry projects. Tropical forests present a clear means to sequester atmospheric CO2 while providing valuable benefits to local communities and native ecosystems. Sustainably managed or protected forests can also offer meaningful co-benefits such as employment and communal resource access while also halting illegal logging, stabilizing soil, providing vital habitat for native plant and animal species, and protecting downstream ecosystems. Again, some critics have legitimate concerns about forest sequestration projects, highlighting important cautions and guidelines. While these critiques should be carefully weighed in the design of a well-planned forestry project, ClearSky operates under the principle that criticism should not negate action. Instead, criticism should be used to refine action. This belief has led us to develop projects that embody the desires and concerns of stakeholders in the forest carbon marketplace.
For more information on these topics, please visit our Learn More page.
Our Philopsophy in Action
Walking the Walk
As a growing business in the world of climate change mitigation, we feel it important to take a look in the mirror and examine our own contributions to climate change. In that spirit, ClearSky has joined the UN Global Compact and UN Environment Programme’s Caring for Climate Initiative, and has pledged to fully offset our corporate greenhouse gas emissions each year. You can view our 2011 GHG Assessment as well as our Confirmation Certificate for the offsets we retire. ClearSky was named 2009s Sustainable Business of the Year by the Montana Sustainable Business Council. Subsequently, ClearSky participated in the ‘Strive Towards Sustainability’ assessment designed by the council. We were
awarded Achiever status, meaning we are doing very well, but with room for improvement. ClearSky actively seeks opportunities to improve its own sustainability and has dramatically embraced internet-based meeting and webinar platforms as a way to reduce the largest portion of its carbon footprint, emissions related to airplane travel. In this way, we expect to avoid significant travel-related emissions and are looking for other opportunities to improve our sustainability performance.
ClearSky is actively involved in local and international educational outreach initiatives. ClearSky staff present numerous lectures at universities and conferences, offer training workshops, and attend local events where we work to educate those unfamiliar with the impacts of climate change and provide details on how individuals or organizations can take action. Our outreach and training extends to city, county, state, and regional governments where climate change planning (both adaptation and mitigation) will likely soon be required operating procedure.